State making headway on repair of deficient bridges

By Priyanka Dayal TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Thursday

Mar 31, 2011 at 12:19 AMMar 31, 2011 at 10:58 AM

One in nine Massachusetts bridges is structurally deficient and needs repairs, according to a new study released yesterday. But state transportation officials say they have made strides in bridge maintenance since launching a repair program in 2008.

The study, from advocacy group Transportation for America, counted 561 structurally deficient bridges in Massachusetts, about 11 percent of the more than 5,000 bridges statewide.

The Department of Transportation’s latest report on bridges said 458 — or about 9 percent — of bridges are structurally deficient.

Thanks to the state’s eight-year, $3 billion Accelerated Bridge Program, which began in August 2008, the number of structurally deficient bridges has declined 16 percent, according to DOT.

John Walkey, Massachusetts field organizer for Transportation for America, said his group’s numbers may be slightly outdated. He called the state’s bridge-repair program a good start but said many more aging bridges will need repairs in the coming years.

“The Accelerated Bridge Program has been a success so far, but it’s about to get a lot of baby-boomer bridges,” he said.

Massachusetts bridges are faring better than bridges in about two dozen other states — including neighboring Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont, according to Transportation for America. The group found that 11.5 percent of bridges nationwide are structurally deficient.

A bridge is considered structurally deficient when it has deteriorated so much it needs immediate repairs. Structurally deficient bridges sometimes have weight restrictions, but they are not necessarily unsafe.

The study, called “The Fix We’re In For: The State of Our Nation’s Bridges,” found that the need for bridge repairs far outpaces federal funding. In 2009, the federal government appropriated $5.2 billion for bridge repairs. But to address the backlog, the country needs to spend a staggering $70.9 billion, transportation advocates say.

In Massachusetts, without a change in spending levels and priorities, the state will need $619 from every driver to fix all deficient bridges, according to the report.

James Corless, director of Washington D.C.-based Transportation for America, said states must balance maintenance of old infrastructure with new construction.

“It’s beginning to become shameful in this country that we can’t take care of what we’ve got,” he said.

He and others who discussed the report on a conference call yesterday agreed that new revenue is needed before the backlog of bridge repairs can be fully addressed. He mentioned the idea of increasing the gas tax.

In a separate phone interview, Mr. Walkey said another idea is to charge drivers based on how many miles they drive, using a tracking device in their cars.

Advocates of bridge repairs say maintenance saves money in the long term. Routine maintenance can also help prevent a tragedy like the one in Minneapolis in 2007, when a highway bridge collapsed into a river, killing 13 people. The incident put bridge maintenance in the national spotlight.

Transportation for America counted 98 structurally deficient bridges in Worcester County, about 10 percent of the total. More than a dozen Central Massachusetts bridges are already scheduled for repairs. One of the state’s biggest bridge projects, estimated to cost nearly $122 million, is the replacement of the Route 9 bridge over Lake Quinsigamond, which connects Shrewsbury and Worcester.

Several bridges along Interstate 290 in Worcester are scheduled for various repairs, including painting, resurfacing and replacement of joints. Also scheduled for repairs are bridges in Barre, Charlton, East Brookfield, Holden, Millbury, Northbridge, Southbridge, Sterling, Sturbridge, Sutton and Westboro.

Over the course of the eight-year Accelerated Bridge Program, more than 200 bridges will be repaired or replaced, according to DOT.

Richard Nangle, DOT spokesman, said the state is spending $1.1 billion — a combination of state and federal funds — on road and bridge repairs this fiscal year.

In a report, transportation officials said the bridge repair program is also helping the economy “by generating jobs and providing a much needed infusion of funds into the private sector.” The program has created or sustained 6,892 construction jobs, including 1,603 jobs in Worcester County, they said.

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